AN EVALUATION OF NEOLITHIC AND EARLY CHALCOLITHIC SITES IN UPPER MEANDER BASIN IN THE CONTEXT OF SETTLEMENT PATTERN AND MATERIAL CULTURE

This article deals with the settlements of the neolithic and early chalcolithic periods on the upper menderes basin located in south-western anatolia and aims to make extensive evaluations of the material culture and settlement patterns of the region by using the systematic survey data. the survey data about the upper menderes basin reveal that the 17 settlements were settled in the neolithic and early chalcolithic ages. the evaluations were made depending on the material culture of the settlements concerned and they indicate that the region had an identical culture with the district of lakes in the neolithic and early chalcolithic ages. on the other hand, when the site selection and settlement pattern concerned are considered, it is understood that plain and the highland areas were selected as living areas in the early phases of the late neolithic age, whereas the settlements increased in the late neolithic-early chalcolithic period and the basin was located by rivers and lakes at the plain level.